The Wedding
by Lily-Finn178
Summary: Chlerek/ Some might have called him stupid for actively looking for a reason to stop this wedding, but Derek Souza wasn't stupid. Just really, really hopeful.
1. Part 1: I'll Try and Suck It Up

Disclaimer:  Don't own. Any of it. Never will.

"The Wedding"

Part 1: I'll Try and Suck It Up

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><p>Don't ask me why I'm stuck at the table with the ice sculpture, standing next to Tori as she gives me an insufferably long rant about some dress. I don't quite know why, myself. My skin was itching to get out of there, run through the forest adjacent to the hotel, but I promised, at least, to stay for the ceremony. If I made it through that, I was given full permission to skip the reception. Go wild, let loose, and—what was it Simon told me? Ah, yes. Raise the woof. Haha. He's such the comedian.<p>

Unlike Tori. Bad enough Simon and I were being forced to sit right in front of where she'd be standing in the bridal party, but she couldn't spare me the half hour before the wedding? I'd had enough of her as a teen, and at twenty eight, I still couldn't tolerate being within the same vicinity as our resident moody witch for long stretches of time. Instead of chatting it up in a one-sided conversation with me, shouldn't she be off doing maid of honor-ly duties, like...I had no idea what the hell a maid of honor actually does. If I did, I would have already taken the opportunity to tell her to go do it. And probably not in as so many nice words as those.

"I just can't _believe_ she wore the same thing. What a skank."

"Who are you talking about, again?"

Tori rolled her eyes, and after knowing each other for ten-plus years, I was still stupefied. Did she not realize how much I actually did not listen to her? "The groom's sister. She's such a ho. Wearing my dress."

I might be slow when it comes to these social things, but I'm pretty sure all bridesmaids wear the same dresses. I told her this because I honestly thought she might not have known.

"Obviously, someone hasn't been listening to a word I've been saying." Um. Duh. "Last night, at the bachlorette party, she had the nerve to wear the exact same dress as me. She knew I was going to wear it then because she'd heard me tell Chloe every last detail at breakfast yesterday morning. I have half a mind to fireball the crap out of her right now."

"Cool it." I raised the glass of wine or champagne or whatever the hell they serve at these things to my mouth, letting a small sip run down my throat. "Chloe said no supernatural shit on her wedding day."

"She did not say that." Yeah, she said it in a nicer way. But when it all came down to it, that's basically what she meant. I was putting it into blunt words so Tori would understand. She never seemed to listen to Chloe. Or me, for that matter. Doesn't stop us from trying to put restrictions on her.

"Is this thing going to start soon or what?" My legs moved from side to side, shifting my weight and making me look probably as impatient as I felt. Not like I cared, though. The sooner this was over, the sooner I was out of here. Second the 'I do's' were over and I'd be running through that forest in a blur of teeth and fur. Maybe I'd run to Canada. That sounded like an appealing prospect. Yay, freaking Canada. Home of wilderness galore and moose, or something.

I'd like the punch a moose right now. It'd be better than taking the burning feeling in my stomach out on Tori, and there'd be no black eyes to mar the wedding photos.

"You can't rush a wedding," Tori looked about as happy to be talking with me as I was with her. Which made me wonder why she was still standing there. Surely, there were other people for her to talk to, or god forbid, a single man she could ensnare. Simon was making his advances with the ladies over by the fountain. Why wasn't Tori also trying to get some?

I'd seen a couple of women giving me the elevator eyes, but I'd turned away before they could catch my gaze. Long gone were the signs of puberty that had plagued me all those years ago during, well, puberty. Since those days in Lyle House and my first Change, I'd grown into my body, leaving behind the constant BO smell and pockmarks. Now I wore clothes that fit my body, instead of trying to hide my muscular form beneath sail-sized t-shirts and baggy pants. Suffice to say, I looked like a man. And women noticed. Oh, they noticed. Sure, there might have been a couple of flings here and there, but nothing came of those relationships. Nothing could. I'd given up on serious the day Chloe and I broke up.

She said plenty of women would be at this thing. Lots of singles, filled with that hopeful disparity weddings seemed to inspire in the gentler sex. All mine for the taking, she said. Chloe did. Said I could pretty much hit up some chick at her wedding and have a grand old time with her. That was wonderful. Knowing my ex cared so much about getting me a new girl. If I had any reservations about her marrying this Hank-Harold-Whatshisname, they were gone now. No lingering feelings for Derek, none at all.

It was as much as I expected. We'd been pretty thick as teens, stuck in that mindset like all young lovers that we were going to be together forever. Except we weren't. Graduating from college a couple years early, due to all my credits in high school, I decided to move a bit closer to my girlfriend as she wrapped up her sophomore year at UCLA, studying, of course, film. She lived in a big city. I didn't like big cities. Being close was never close enough for me. There were so many people, so many distractions and noises, I never calmed down. Always on my toes, waiting for disaster to strike, something horrible to happen in which I had to guard her. There had been a lot of fights back then. We'd made it through her junior year. But not the next.

Still friends, though. You don't escape from wacko scientists and cabals and then not grow close to the people who suffered through it with you. I couldn't escape those people even if I wanted. Simon was my brother. Chloe was friends with Simon. Tori was friends with Chloe. Run away from them, I could do, but they'd still be there when I returned home for Thanksgiving. Because I didn't miss feasts.

So, friends it was. Grudgingly, at first, on my part. After the initial shock of the dump, I got over it. About five years we lasted. I hadn't even imagined one. So, I counted my blessings, cherished all the good memories—I could contently say there had been more of _those_ than the bad ones—and moved on with my life. Got my own house hidden in the woods in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Published some award-winning essays. Now I made my living giving speeches at colleges, teaching a few seminars while I was at it. But not for too long. I stayed out of society as much as I was able. This wedding was the largest non-academic-related social gathering I'd been to in, oh, years.

And I didn't even want to be here.

"If I have to wait here so long, can't there at least be a buffet set up? They're serving drinks." I ignored the look Tori was throwing me, and she ignored that I even asked. Luckily for the both of us and the lull in our conversation, a cell phone rang. Tori's, in fact.

I grimaced as she pulled the device from her cleavage, tempted to revert back to my sixteen-year-old self and give a convincing 'Gross.' Yet, I settled for a yakking sound which had her flipping me the bird.

It was Chloe, checking in to see where Tori was, I heard. Her voice was shaky, but not sounding incredibly like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Which was a good thing, I guess, that she wasn't about to freak out on her wedding day, but made the sensation in my gut feel even more like upchucking. It was such a mundane exchange, all about how the flowers looked and how many guests were being seated, that I almost missed when Chloe asked, "I-is Derek there?"

Now, I was listening. And Tori knew it. But she didn't angle the phone away from me or push me to go away, like she had done when we were younger. Just shook her head at me and replied, "In the flesh, right next to me. He's not going anywhere yet."

Oh. So Tori had been sent outside on guard duty. Making sure I wasn't about to run off and break my promise to stay. Chloe's voice was hesitant, maybe not wanting to know if I _had_ run away. A whoosh of air told me she let out a sigh, and concluded maybe I didn't mind waiting that long, if it was evident she was relieved I was still there. Like she needed me to be there. Like this wedding couldn't possibly carry on if I wasn't there to support her. Like maybe this wedding didn't have to happen if I was there.

Except I might have been the only one to think that because then Chloe was asking Tori to come to the bridal suite. Something about only just now putting on her dress, which caused Tori to smack her forehead in exasperation. She hung up the phone, stuck it back down the front of her dress, and chugged down the liquid in the glass she was holding.

"There are nine good reasons to call off a wedding."

"What?" Maybe the Edison Group modified my hearing to suddenly give out after almost thirty years because I'm certain I didn't hear Tori right.

She repeated herself. "There are nine good reasons to call off a wedding. It was some article I read in one of Chloe's wedding magazines a couple weeks ago. The page had been marked, so I was bored and read it. Listed the nine things that would make it excusable to call off a wedding. Pretty interesting stuff."

My snort answered her. Excusable to call off a wedding? Not when I'd been waiting all morning to get it over with.

"No, really. I won't go too into details, but the writer of the article made some compelling arguments."

"Such as?"

The witch adjusted the lone strap on her peacock-colored dress, then smoothed down the wide ruffle thing on the short skirt. "Oh, I said I wouldn't go into details. I barely remember any of it, anyway. Although there was one that stuck out the most at me."

I grunted, beginning to tune out of the conversation again and watch as Simon flirted up a storm with a redhead over yonder. My brother, of course, was definitely taking up Chloe's offer of women on a platter. Unlike me, he's had more relationships than I could keep track of over the years. But with Simon, that was expected.

"Wolf Boy, you listening?"

Turning my glare on Tori, I shooed her snapping fingers out of my face, then checked to see if anyone had heard her. Just because no one else was standing near us, didn't mean she hadn't been overheard. Typical of Tori, she spoke in a voice that just begged people to listen to it, and I wasn't taking any chances that someone heard that stupid nickname she oh-so-originally thought up years ago. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Just get on with it. Wedding's gotta be starting soon."

Rolling her eyes for the last time in my presence, she began walking away towards the hotel, most likely to catch up with Chloe and the rest of the bridesmaids. Over her shoulder, she gave her parting words of wisdom. "The number one reason to call off a wedding is because the bride or groom is in love with someone else."

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><p><span>Authoress's Notes: <span>I've been working on this for almost a month now, so I felt it was about time to finally post it here. It'll be a three-shot, and part two will be posted next week, then part three the week after. I got the idea for this late one night as I was looking up writing prompts and came across one that said "List 9 reasons to call off a wedding". Instant inspiration for a DP fic! I stayed up until 4 in the morning that night typing most of it up. I felt so productive.

The lyrics used for the titles belong to the song "All to Myself" by Marianas Trench. It's a fabulous song, check it out!

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading/reviewing!


	2. Part 2: I Just Can't Suck It Up

"The Wedding"

Part 2: I Just Can't Suck It Up

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><p>It was the dead of summer, but the wedding had been scheduled for early in the morning to escape the heat. The actual ceremony was situated under high trees giving enough shade that most of the guests wouldn't be puddles of sweat by the time it was over. After the vows were spoken, the reception was being held in a banquet room somewhere in the hotel. For the most part, the wedding preparations had gone on without me paying much attention to them. The only information I had really gathered was that Chloe had been adamant about her special day being at this particular hotel. Everyone else figured it was because the hotel was elegant, private, and its gardens were the best in this part of the state. But I knew the necromancer could care less about all of that; she'd only wanted the forest and the guarantee that if I attended, I'd have somewhere to run away when it was all done.<p>

I suppose I should be thankful instead of wanting to just back out of my deal with Chloe, the one I made a month ago when she called me out of the blue to tell me they'd booked the venue. But it was hard to be thankful when I was sitting in my white folding chair in the front row, watching Hank-Harold-Whatshisname, grinning so wide his pearly whites were about to blind a few birds. If only a couple of flying creatures would take a nosedive right for his face, and maybe I'd decide this wedding was worth my staying. I glanced back at the branches of leafy green and the shadows shifting in the forest, then back at the smiling groom. If only...

What was he smiling about anyway? Sure, it was his wedding day and in a matter of hours he would be on a plane to Jamaica with his new bride for three weeks of honeymoon bliss. He had every reason to smile, but did he have to do it so...joyfully? It didn't seem right.

_...the bride or groom is in love with someone else._

Was the bastard cheating on Chloe? Is that why that gargantuan smile was in place? He knew he was doing something he shouldn't, that he was screwing around with some other woman when the one he had was already too good for him in the first place. My trust in him had never been that great, but now it just downright vanished. Hank-Harold-Whatshisname had always treated Chloe well and didn't make stupid mistakes like always telling her what to do or rushing into the middle of something important, like say, a college midterm exam, just to check on her. He'd never given me any reason to mistrust him, any single thing for me to give concern and tell Chloe what I thought. Not that it would have mattered. She would have chalked it up to my being dictatorial again and went on with the relationship anyway.

I didn't trust that smile.

Reason number nine to break up Chloe's wedding: Her husband-to-be was an asshole who might be cheating on her?

She'd give me hell for saying that. Hank-Harold-Whatshisname was a good man. They'd been dating for a year, engaged for six months, with no significant mishaps. Following our break up, Chloe had gone on to graduate from college, gaining an internship at some movie studio. Years of taking others' coffee orders and running errands had let her climb up the ladder, and soon she was directing her first movie. Some indie film that hadn't raked in much profit, but it'd been her first true career accomplishment. After celebrating with Simon, Tori, our dad, Aunt Lauren, and me, her father had stepped into the picture and whisked her off on one of his business trips to Europe. There, she'd met Hank-Harold-Whatshisname in some cute, funny way that people fawned over, unlike the reaction we'd get when we had to explain our first meeting ("You met in a group home? Oh, well...hey, look at that! An airplane! How marvelous!").

Simon was walking up the aisle to our row. I nodded as he took the seat next to mine, as he said, "Don't look so gloomy. It's about to start." Was I that transparent? Or was it simply that they all knew how much I did not want to be where I was? "Do me a favor, Derek, okay? After the ceremony, pull Chloe aside and give her a hug. Tell her you're happy for her, then you can leave. She'd like that."

"Would she, really?" I wasn't about to make another promise about staying any longer than I wanted to, so I didn't really commit to his favor.

"Yeah, she would, and you know it. She's nervous enough as it is."

"How nervous?" I couldn't help but wonder. Nervous enough to call it off?

"Don't." My brother punched my shoulder.

Had I been worried that Simon and Chloe would get together once I wasn't in the way? Not much. By the time we were over, they'd been practically brother and sister, any romantic feelings fading long before then. There once had been a time where I had thought maybe one day, they really would be siblings. With a snarl at the patiently waiting groom, I shoved those thoughts away.

Reason number eight to break up Chloe's wedding: Her in-laws were crap?

Hank-Harold-Whatshisname was an only child, his parents older than time itself. Plus, I talked to them for a while at the rehearsal dinner the night before. A bit on the snobbish side, in my opinion. But that didn't count for anything when it wasn't me marrying into the family.

For such a small family, though, they sure had a lot of friends. Chloe's side of the seating arrangements only held a couple handfuls of people, the front row including the people she had that were closest to a real family. Me, Simon, Dad, and Aunt Lauren. Tori would be standing right next to her. Beyond us, there were a couple of college friends, and some of Chloe's coworkers. The groom's side was overflowing into our section. I shifted in my seat, glancing over at the forest once more, yearning for my chance to flee.

Now the groom's mother was strutting her way up the altar, pinching her baby boy's cheeks and laughing at something he said.

Reason number seven to break up Chloe's wedding: He was a Mama's boy?

Nah, that wouldn't work. Chloe was her mother's little angel, when she had been alive. She thought highly of any man who clearly cared for his mother.

So, scratch that. I need a new number seven. How about the fact he seemed to not be able to detach his hand from squeezing his best man's shoulder? That seemed plausible.

The _real_ reason number seven to break up Chloe's wedding: Her man wasn't exactly a lady's man?

And if I shouted that to the general public, I'd look like a fool. Nope. Needed something better.

"Would you stop glaring Harvey down? The guy's probably anxious enough without you looking like you're going to come after him with chainsaw," Simon said.

I wasn't glaring him down. Just observing. Looking for more reasons to—What, Derek? What are you going to do when you find the perfect reason? Ruin Chloe's wedding? Yeah, she'd sure love that. There was no need for me to be looking for any of Hank—Excuse me, _Harvey's_ supposed faults. I wouldn't find any. Chloe wouldn't have said yes to his proposal if there had been any.

Harvey was checking his watch. Oh, yes. So anxious. Probably wondering if she had run away. I was. But that was just me, being several parts paranoid and hopeful. Was Harvey paranoid? Had he often called Chloe up, immediately demanding she tell him where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing?

Reason number six to break up Chloe's wedding: Her intended's paranoia might one day drive her insane. It had happened once before. It could happen again.

I was close to giving up this nonsense. All I was coming up with were crap excuses, nothing concrete. Nothing could really combat the fact that Harvey was a nice guy, just as nice as Chloe, two freaking perfectly matched love doves. And the question still remained: what was I planning on doing?

Blame Tori. She put this idea of nine reasons to call off a wedding in my head. And she disappeared off to help Chloe before I could subtly ask her what the other eight reasons were. So, I was left with just that one, the one about the bride or the groom and the possibility of one of the two loving someone else.

Reason number five to break up Chloe's wedding: If it wasn't the groom, was it the bride?

That was laughable. When Chloe loved a man, she loved _a_ man. There was no other guy in the picture. Even if there was, one well-worded question would send her into a fit of stutters so strong you just knew something was up.

Yet...Tori had been mad the bride hadn't put on her dress. Described to me by the witch as the wedding dress that had all other wedding dresses feeling ashamed of themselves, I guessed any bride would be eager to throw that piece of cloth and frills on in an instant. Chloe, for some reason, hadn't. Had waited until nearly the last minute. Had waited until Tori set out to stuff her in the dress with her own bare hands.

So...what did that mean?

Reason number four to break up Chloe's wedding: Reluctance to wear proper wedding attire?

And what else did Tori say? She'd read that magazine article because it had _been marked_. Meaning there had been cause to read it in the first place. That there had been reason to return to that page, so crucial a reason it had to be marked.

Reason number three to break up Chloe's wedding: Cold feet? Second thoughts? Doubt?

The piano in the back started the first strands of music. Everyone was seated, heads twisted around in anticipation. I swear not one person there was letting any air escape. In what I saw as a fit of rebellion, I still sat with my head straight, facing the altar. Glaring down the groom. He was ignoring me completely now, eyes trained on the spot at the back like everyone else.

Simon's leg nudged mine. "Hey, chill out. Stop being so tense."

Would he be saying the same if it was his ex about to follow that little flower girl down the walkway? My fingers twined together, crossing in hopes the girl decked out in white ribbons would trip. Ruin the whole wedding. So, I didn't have to make a fool out of myself.

It's not as if from the moment I met Harvey that I wanted to push him down in a surge of jealousy. Well, okay. I had. The shock of being introduced to Chloe's new boyfriend had awakened...things in me I hadn't felt, hadn't acknowledged in years. But that was all wolf, not Derek. And I had excused myself after to take a long, exhausting run outside. When I returned, I shook the other man's hand with a somewhat inviting grin and accepted Chloe had a new partner. Had even congratulated them on the engagement, although I'd had to hold my tongue while doing so.

A breeze swept under my nose, bringing with it the smells of perfumes and those awful flowers all over the place. The forest seemed more enticing every minute. I didn't want to be here, or anywhere close to here. It wasn't just the noise and all the people and that man behind me who farted something foul. I knew, had to admit to myself, I just could not handle this. Grooms, bridesmaids, in-laws, vows, and the cursed words 'I do'.

"Derek." Simon spoke under his breath, sure I could hear and that he wasn't distracting anyone from watching Tori waltz up to the altar. "Wait. Just wait."

He'd seen my body inching forward, foot digging into the grass beneath it, getting ready to sprint.

I didn't want to wait.

The smile on the groom's face got bigger. I hadn't thought it possible. But there was the proof. Just spreading wider and wider across his face, fixing into this stupid, goofy look, and I knew it was because she was back there. Holding onto her father's arm, face red from all the eyes on her, about to take her feet forward, towards _him_.

Reason number two...

Reason number...

Screw the reasons. She belonged with _me._

Simon swore loud enough for Aunt Lauren, two seats away, to draw in a gasp of disapproval. Beside him, Dad leaned over and said to me, "Look at Chloe. Now."

"_Fine_." I must have sounded like a petulant child, and that's what I felt like. Didn't want to eat my vegetables. Didn't want to take a bath. Didn't want to look at Chloe in all her bridal glory.

But I turned around, anyway.

There she was. Hand loosely hanging off her father's arm because he had suddenly been able to make it to the wedding of his only daughter and prized almost-son-in-law. For awhile, it had seemed like Steve Saunders' business was going to pull him away, leaving my dad, the next best thing Chloe had to a father figure, to escort her to the groom. Only time I'd been glad her neglectful dad had shown his face. I didn't think I'd have been able to take the insult of having my dad give her away to another man.

My gaze switched from her limp grasp on her father's arm to scan the rest of her. Plain, glossy white dress, the knee-length skirt shifting to some extent in the light summer breeze. Short white heels with tiny bows. Bouquet of blue and white flowers. No veil, just a tiny tiara reflecting sunlight to blind her guests. Fine blond hair pulled back into some intricate hold. Face-

Oh. _Oh_.

Chloe's skin was as white as the dress clinging to her body, perhaps even more so. Blue eyes large, lipsticked mouth pinched but with a barely noticeable tremble to them. Everything about her body language suggested she wasn't moving a single step. Completely frozen. Not quite the blushing bride everyone had been picturing, I bet. Looked more like she had seen-

Reason number one to break up Chloe's wedding: The bride had seen a ghost.

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><p><span>Authoress's Notes:<span> And here's part two! The third and final part will be up next week! This would have been up earlier, but I forgot. And then there was a shooting down my street and my curiosity demanded I watch all the cop cars. Although I was just getting out of the shower, so I missed most of the action. Curse my need to be clean, I could have seen more ideas for fanfiction!

Thanks for reading/reviewing!


	3. Part 3: I Want You All to Myself

"The Wedding"

Part 3: I Want You All to Myself

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><p>"You didn't need to tell them that."<p>

"Tell them what?"

"Don't play dumb, Derek. You know what I'm talking about." Chloe wasn't even glancing over in my direction, but I knew an eye roll when I heard one. There seemed to be a lot of eye rolling today. Especially around me.

She was referring to the way I stood up in front of all those people out in the garden. The way I held up my hands, redirecting everyone's attention to me and my announcement. Someone called out that objections to the marriage didn't happen until the bride was at the altar. I thanked him graciously (see: sarcastically) for the reminder before telling everyone the wedding had to be halted so I could hit the restroom. If that hadn't already shocked the crowd enough, when I strode on to the back of the aisle and dragged the bride away with me sure did.

I wasn't about to think about a smoother way to remove her from where she stood, not when it was obvious she was frozen to the spot. Soon, the wedding guests would start to wonder why she wasn't moving an inch. Some might have chalked it up to nerves, but after a long time of just watching Chloe stand there, they'd begin to realize something was up. Which is why I had to stop them from thinking that. Place the blame on the rude guy who forced the bride to follow him into the bridal suite. It was tricky to get involved with someone who had no clue what a supernatural was, let alone a whole parade of people who witnessed a necromancer seeing a ghost and having no idea that's what they were seeing.

It was a good thing Chloe had someone like me doing damage control, and I told her that before asking who she saw at the end of that aisle.

Blowing out a huff of air, Chloe reached up and tugged a tiny silver tiara out of her hair. I didn't tell her a lock of blond hair had come loose with it, only because it fell on her forehead in a pleasant way that made me want to push it back. That was dangerous thinking territory, but I kept my mouth shut, when what I should do is tell her before I got the urge to do something stupid, like touch her.

"Marcie. Her fiance killed her in this room years ago on the night before their wedding, and she's been haunting it ever since. She's been following me around all week." In an effort to better prepare for the day, Chloe and her gang of wedding followers had stationed here the entire week. "Just let me talk to her real quick.

To give her a moment of privacy with the ghostly bride, I took another look around the room, something better to fix my eyes on other than that incredibly soft-looking piece of hair. It was called a bridal suite, but was basically only two hotel rooms stuck together with a door between them. The room we were standing in held a couple of tables, a desk with fancy stationary, an abundance of chairs, and a couch. A full-length mirror stood in one corner of the room, a hanger clinging to its top where the dress had probably been placed before Chloe chose to finally put it on. Vases of flowers matching Chloe's color scheme were littered about the room, the scent irritating my nose.

Under all that flowery smell was Chloe, though. The entire room smelled like her, like some intoxicating aroma I couldn't get enough of. I took deep lungfuls of air, reminded of times when I'd hold her close and bury my nose in her hair. I looked past the door leading to the adjoining room, seeing the corner of a queen-sized bed, a pair of pajama pants hanging off the side. The covers were unmade from when Chloe had undoubtedly rolled out of them. I tried not to think of Chloe, of that bed, of adding those two things together with that man standing outside in the gardens. Of nights years ago when it was just me and her and quiet woods—

I needed another drink. Turning away from the door, I walked over to the coffee table in front of the couch. A bowl of melting ice holding a bottle of champagne was hidden behind a vase of white roses. I picked up the bottle, the condensation cooling my palm and getting my fingers wet. Tissues were nowhere to be seen, I wiped the water off on my pant leg, sure that no one would care. As soon as Chloe got done talking to her ghost, I could take her back to the gardens and maybe slip out before the ceremony. Someone—Tori, I imagined—had already opened the bottle, so finding a glass on the table, I poured some for myself and took a large gulp.

"Derek," Chloe was coming towards me, all finished with her necromancer duty. I handed my glass to her in offering, and she took it, drinking the rest. "Thanks."

"For what?" I took the glass out of her hand and filled it up again. There was still half a bottle to go through.

"For this." She pointed at the bottle, then waved her hands in the direction of the gardens. "For that."

"Just being a friend." I gave the glass back to her, lifting the bottle in a toast. She followed suit with the glass. "To this and that."

She drank the champagne so quickly, I had to put a hand on her arm. "Not too fast. Or you'll be stumbling down that aisle."

Brushing past me, Chloe sat down on the couch, patting the spot next to her. I stayed where I was, not trusting myself to be in her proximity at the moment. Being in the same room as her right now was pushing it.

"Shouldn't you be getting back out there? It is your wedding, after all."

"What do you think they're thinking out there?"

"They're thinking I ruined a perfectly good wedding with my potty break." She gave me a look, and I set my teasing aside. Sinking down into the couch next to her because I was sure this would be the last time I'd probably get to be so close to her, I shrugged. "They're thinking you're nervous, doing what normal people do. Thinking of something normal and not supernatural. They're not going to figure out that you saw the ghost of some dead woman."

"I should have just ignored her. But Marcie's been bugging me _all_ week. I couldn't take it anymore." She reached down and undid the straps on her shoes, kicking them away before bringing her legs under her and resting her head on my shoulder. "You want to know what she kept bothering me about?"

"Shoot."

"Okay, so she was murdered by her fiance, right? Except it wasn't her actual fiance. It was the man she promised to run away with." Chloe pressed the glass against her lips, smudging her lipstick as she took another sip. "He thought she had decided to get back with the other guy, so he strangled her before the wedding. What he didn't know was that she was getting ready to run away, to elope, with him."

"They couldn't just talk it out?"

"From what Marcie told me, he might have been a bit drunk." Now more of her hair was falling out, sliding along my neck. "And he was consumed with jealousy, so that didn't help matters."

I made a sound in my throat in understanding, when all I could think about was that it looked like she was about to fall asleep right on my shoulder. As if there wasn't this monumental event going on outside.

"She wanted me to write a letter to the guy and explain that he killed her for nothing. I told her I'd do it first thing tomorrow morning." Of course. Over the years, she'd helped more ghosts than I could count on my fingers and toes. That still hadn't mad it any easier for her when it came to seeing some of the ghosts. To comfort her, and because my shoulder was starting to numb, I shifted so that I could wrap my arm around her waist, both of us sinking back further into the couch cushions.

"Derek, you'd never get that jealous, would you?"

"I might, but it depends."

"On what?"

On if I was a normal human or in the form of a wolf that wouldn't take a second thought to sinking its teeth into another living being. But that was a bit too grotesque for this conversation, so I went with the next best thing. "On if I had a chance with her."

"And if you had a chance?"

"Well, I wouldn't kill her, that's for sure." The guy, on the other hand...

I sat up, putting the bottle back with one last sip and standing up. "Come on, Chloe. Put your shoes back on. I gotta take you back now."

Chloe got up, but only to move onto the arm of the couch and drag me back to sit down again. I went willingly, not because her grip on my sleeve was strong, but because I still wasn't ready to go back out into all of that. I'm not sure if I would ever be ready for it. Surprising me, Chloe settled on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug. Feeling like we were teenagers again, like I would break her if I held too tightly, I hesitantly rested my hands on her back and hugged her back.

A half-hearted chuckle escaped me, as I said, "Simon told me to hug you _after_ the wedding. Then tell you how happy I am for you."

"Well, don't," came back her muffled voice from where it was hiding in the crook of my neck.

"Don't what?"

Her arms stiffened, then relaxed. "Don't be happy for me." Moving back, she held my head in both hands and looked me right in the eye. "Y-you're my voice of reason, Derek. Tell me I'm doing something stupid."

"You're doing something stupid."

Chloe smiled, leaning in, but I grabbed hr shoulders and held her back. If my will was stronger, I would have removed her completely from me and walked out of the room. But it wasn't, and she stayed seated on my lap. "You're going to make a lot of people angry if you don't put on your shoes and walk down that aisle in the next five minutes."

"Stop telling me what to do, Derek."

"We've always had that problem, Chloe."

We were glaring at each other now, neither wanting to back down or back away. I took a deep breath, taking in another drag of her fragrance, so much stronger now that she was so close. "We've _always_ had that problem, Chloe. It's not going to go away. It hasn't in all the years we've known each other."

"So? We can work on—"

"No, we can't. Because we have other problems. More problems than just that. It didn't work the first time. How do you know it'll work now?"

"I just _do_. Look, it's been on my mind for awhile—"

"And we conveniently have to talk about it now, on today of all days? Face it, Chloe, you're getting cold feet. You just want an excuse to get out of—"

"For _years_, Derek! I've been thinking about this _for_ _years_!" Her hands left my face, shaking in the air to add emphasis. Parts of my jaw were still warm from where she'd been holding it, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her touch. "It's just convenient today because I know I'm making a mistake! A stupid mistake, as you'd be the first person to tell me if you had the guts."

I opened my mouth to protest that statement, but she slapped her hand over the bottom half of my face before I could. "We can make this—us!—work if we tried. We never tried last time. We never took a chance. And you don't want to take a chance now. You want to, though, or else you wouldn't want to be running away into that forest right now."

Well, she had me there. Even now, I could see the tops of tree branches out of the window and longed to be out there, away from this situation, this conversation. "You and I—we—how do I know that down the road in five years, it won't just happen again? That we run our course again? That you..."

"Might dump you again?" I cringed at the words. It always sounded so harsh when people put it in those terms. Like getting rid of garbage.

A deep exhale from Chloe seemed to expel the tension in her limbs, and she pressed her forehead against mine. Her eyes half-closed, she whispered, "We don't know. It might happen. Or it might not. We're older now, wiser now, maybe..." But she didn't sound so sure herself.

"I want to," I mouthed, not even sure if she could hear me. "I want to, but..."

"We could do this. I _want_ to do this. I miss you," her lips tickled along my cheek before coming into contact with mine. It was a light touch, barely moving her mouth against mine. It was a ploy, a question, an unspoken agreement that I only had to respond to with one movement.

I pulled away, her eyes springing open as I cleared my throat to bring up another argument, something else to stop her. When I knew inside that I didn't want to stop her. Couldn't, really, because Chloe had never listened to me anyway.

My hand lifted to cup the back of her neck and bring her forward, capturing her mouth with mine. She tasted like champagne and lipstick and exactly how I remembered her tasting. Nothing about this, about us, had changed, and I felt myself feel glad for that. My hand curled into her hair, untangling the rest of that ridiculous up-do as my other arm pushed against the small of her back in an attempt to bring us closer together. Flattening her body along mine, Chloe bent her head and deepened the kiss.

This is the point where I had to stop her, fearing that any longer and I'd be picking her up and carrying her off past that door. Chloe was smiling, hair mussed and lips a deep red. An involuntary grin smoothed along my mouth and I figured I probably looked the same. Catching sight of the clock on the side wall, Chloe asked, "How long have we been in here?"

"Long enough to piss some people off, I bet." I glanced back at the door to the suite. "Someone's bound to come looking for you soon."

"Let's get out of here then."

"Dressed in that?" I nodded my chin toward her dress, where more than a few wrinkles had appeared. Observing her from head to toe, it was most likely obvious what exactly she had been doing. My guess was that there would be quite a lot of people who wouldn't like that.

"Then let's stay in here for the rest of the day."

"They'll get someone to open the door."

"The forest?"

"As much as I'd love to, Chloe, there's a whole wedding about to take place outside that forest."

"My voice of reason." Chloe sighed and sat up straight before a thought caused her shoulders to drop. "I have to tell Harvey. That's not going to be easy."

"I'll say. You did wait until today to get back together with your ex."

She shoved my arm. "You're not helping matters."

"I tried that, and then you seduced me."

"I'll seduce you into being quiet if I have to."

"Hmm, you might have to."

Her lips hovered close to mine. "Derek, it'll be okay. We're going to make it work this time. I love you, and I always have."

I didn't respond. Didn't need to. She was already kissing me.

* * *

><p>Tori's phone buzzed, causing those around her to glare at her. The witch gave them the stink eye back. What did they care if her cell went off? It's not like anything interesting was happening away. Taking the phone out her cleavage, much to the shock of Harvey's ancient mother, she walked away from the altar, shoving the bridesmaid next to her in the process because it just so happened to be the groom's cousin, who had worn the same dress as her at the bachelorette party. It wasn't as powerful as some of the spells she'd like to cast on the bitch, but it would do for now.<p>

"It's Tori. What do you want?" she answered the phone as soon as she was far enough away.

"Other than for you to go to hell?"

"That's cute, Wolf Boy. Where's the bride?"

"Nowhere near the wedding. We've taken the limo and left."

Tori groaned. "You know people are getting restless here? Now you've gone and given them a reason to get totally pissed off. Thanks a lot. Where are you guys going?"

"Why do you need to kn—"

"Oh my god, put Chloe on the phone this instant!" There was static on the other end as the phone was switching hands. Chloe's voice came through the speakers and Tori stomped her foot on the ground, even though the necromancer couldn't see it. "_Chloe Saunders, are you eloping with Derek?_"

"Ow! Tori!Don't yell. And what's with that? We tell you we left, and your first thought is to ask if we're eloping?"

"Uh, yeah. Which would be a stupid thing to do, Chloe, because I wouldn't be there to help with your hair or your make-up. And what would you do without a maid of—?"

"Tori!"

"Not to mention, your dress!"

"_Tori_! Calm down!"

The witch held the phone away from her ear. "You don't need to yell at me. Damn, Chloe, bailing on your wedding day. That's a bold move."

"Yeah, I know. Look, Derek and I...we just need to be alone with each other for awhile."

"Ohhh, yeah, I can imagine."

"Tori!" Tori rolled her eyes. She was only kidding. "Look, I'll explain it all to you in a couple of days—"

"Don't worry. I don't want any of the dirty details."

An aggravated sound came from Chloe's end of the line, just as someone's hand gripped Tori's elbow and spun her around. "Tori, can you just...just tell Harvey and everyone..."

A flood of faces met Tori's startled eyes. The groom, smile long gone and looking as white as the flowers scattered about the place. The groom's cousin, mouth ajar in shock. His mother, mouths trembling and waving a handkerchief in her face. Aunt Lauren, not exactly looking at Tori, but trying to calm down the outraged whispers from those around her. Kit Bae, shoulders shaking in a contained, satisfied chuckle. Simon, standing in front of Tori as he shook his head. "You and your damn big mouth."

Tori held up the phone to her mouth again, stopping the necromancer from asking her favor. "Don't worry, Chloe. They already know."

* * *

><p><span>Authoress's Notes:<span> And that's a wrap! Yayyy! It's all over! I hope everyone was filled with Chlerek-y goodness.

This would have been up on Tuesday, but I got distracted and kept forgetting. And then yesterday I was at a friend's having the most ultimate water balloon war ever. And so I finally remembered to put it up now. So, sorry for the slight wait!

No one seemed to notice, but as I was rereading, I realized I made Tori have a deal with the groom's sister, only to later state he was an only child. So I changed that sister to a cousin. Yay for goof-ups!

Thanks for reading/reviewing!


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